saturate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cause (a substance) to unite with the greatest possible amount of another substance, through solution, chemical combination, or the like.
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to charge to the utmost, as with magnetism.
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to soak, impregnate, or imbue thoroughly or completely.
to saturate a sponge with water; a town saturated with charm.
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to destroy (a target) completely with bombs and missiles.
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to send so many planes over (a target area) that the defensive electronic tracking equipment becomes ineffective.
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to furnish (a market) with goods to its full purchasing capacity.
verb (used without object)
adjective
noun
verb
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to fill, soak, or imbue totally
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to make (a chemical compound, vapour, solution, magnetic material, etc) saturated or (of a compound, vapour, etc) to become saturated
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(tr) military to bomb or shell heavily
adjective
Related Words
See wet.
Other Word Forms
- desaturate verb (used with object)
- oversaturate verb (used with object)
- saturater noun
Etymology
Origin of saturate
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin saturātus (past participle of saturāre “to fill”), equivalent to satur- “full, well-fed” ( sad ) + -ātus -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
UAVs are seen as a low-cost way to saturate targets and air defenses.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
These creations, often presented as real, saturate social feeds with content ranging from fake Spotify bands to TikTok videos claiming to show explosions on the frontlines in Ukraine.
From Barron's • Nov. 26, 2025
“We go in and saturate an area with high visibility and view patrol,” said Sean Duryee, commissioner of the California Highway Patrol, standing at Newsom’s side.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 29, 2025
“It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.”
From BBC • Nov. 26, 2024
When a hot virus multiplies in a host, it can saturate the body with virus particles, from the brain to the skin.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
